I'm on the plane now - headed to an Agile Conference in Orlando Florida. I left first thing in the morning, and the trip started off, well, not so good. When Jen was dropping me off on the tarmac some hick in a huge truck who was dropping off his mom got upset at Jen and I for taking too long to say goodbye. Jen and the redneck got into a verbal altercation, and I thought Jen was going to take his head off.
Turns out his mom was right behind me in the ticketing line. It was going to be awkward. I went ahead and acknowledged it by saying something like "well, I'm glad that didn't get out of control".
She said "I know, he was very angry with you."
Unable to resist the urge, I said "It must be wonderful to have raised a boy who knows so much about how everything in life should work". Luckily, she was good-natured about it.
"I know! That's exactly how he is!" She said.
This morning I was teasing Jen that since I'd be flying all day (I boarded my first plane at 9:35a and will land at around 5:30p Portland time) I should just go ahead and start drinking to make the whole thing fly by. It's the kind of teasing I do to acknowledge the fact that what we worry about when our spouse goes on business trips is that they will have fun as party animals every night while we're stuck at home.
Unfortunately, the guy on the plane next to me for my flight to Dallas had exactly this strategy. He smelled of alcohol, presumably from the night before when he later confessed that he had gone to the "titty bar". He had two cranberry and vodkas during the flight. He was incredibly good looking with perfectly straight, white teeth. This was a professional necessity since he's a dental equipment salesman. Despite the fact that I have so little in common with a dental equipment salesman from Houston, we had a long conversation throughout the flight. This was an example of a time during which I was a "good listener" - a term used for people who let people who like to talk talk without interrupting them. Good listener == back conversation ender.
Dallas Fort Worth is huge, but I made it to my connecting flight and here I am on the plane waiting for Orlando. This flight has been far less eventful.
